Delhi gangrape case: Defence counsel of two convicts withdraws

New Delhi: A month after they were sentenced to death for gangraping and murdering a 23-year-old woman in moving bus, two of the four convicts have lost their counsels. Lawyers of Mukesh and Pawan Kumar Gupta on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that they were withdrawing from the case as the family members of the convicts were intervening in the case.

Appearing for Mukesh, advocate V K Anand informed the bench of justices Reva Khetrapal and Pratibha Rani that at the instance of certain people, including advocates, the convict's family members are interfering in his work to file the appeal in the case.

"I wanted to withdraw myself from the case as certain people are trying to interfere into my work and the court should discharge me from the work," he said, adding that he has communicated the decision to the brother of Mukesh.

Meanwhile, special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan told the bench that advocate Vivek Sharma, who represents convict Pawan, has telephonically informed about his intention to withdraw from the case.

While the other two convicts, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, have filed appeals against the death sentence, Pawan and Mukesh have not. The court has said that it would provide counsels to them as mandated by law.

Six men had gangraped and brutalised the woman on December 16, 2012. The fast track court last month pronounced them guilty of the crime and handed death sentence to four of them. Main accused Ram Singh committed suicide in Tihar Jail whereas another convict was a minor so he was sent to juvenile court.